Seo In-gook, Sooyoung for new OCN comic crime drama

Ooh, Seo In-gook in a comic crime drama? I’m in! I know he just did I Remember You, which was a crime procedural of sorts, but Seo In-gook and comedy will always be the winning combination in my book. He’s entertaining an offer to headline the newest drama from OCN’s hit writer Han Jung-hoon (Bad Guys, Vampire Prosecutor) called Police Unit 38, about a specialized police squad that goes after tax evaders. Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung (My Spring Days) is being courted as well, and Bad Guys’Ma Dong-seok has been attached since the project was first announced in December.

The new series sounds similar to Bad Guys and yet completely the opposite: A special task force will mix cops and criminals in order to catch bad guys, but this time the good-bad guys will be con artists who use their skills of fraud and deception in order to help catch tax evaders. If that sounds strange and hilarious, I think that’s the point — the drama will be a comedy about using criminal tactics to catch real criminals, aka rich people who try to weasel out of paying their taxes.

It’s pretty specific (not to mention funny) to create a drama about catching tax evaders, but the premise seems to reflect the current public sentiment rather perfectly — namely that the rich shouldn’t get away with not paying their taxes like everyone else, and if there were any justice in this world, they would be tracked down and forced to pay by any means necessary.

That’s where the police unit comes in. They’ll use every con in the book to catch their targets, from voice phishing, pharming, insurance and real estate scams, to fake antiquities and delivery scams. It doesn’t sound legal, but Bad Guys busted killers out of jail to catch killers… so yeah. Any other tactic seems rather minor compared to that. It’s certainly a new idea to recruit con artists to become heroes of the people, though good luck trusting the members of your team.

The actors’ roles haven’t been specified, but I could certainly see all three of them as slick, shifty con artists. I hope it’ll have a heist-caper feel (getting a band of thieves together just has that ring to it, don’t you think?).

Police Unit 38 will be 100% pre-produced, and is being planned for the post-Vampire Detective slot on Saturdays and Sundays in May-June.

January 18, 2016 at 3:05 AM

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Reminds me of Japanese drama Kurosagi, which I actually really enjoyed (even though yes, it is often a stretch of imagination for Yamapi's acting). Sounds promising and I always love a good heist drama if they can pull it off right.

January 18, 2016 at 4:13 AM

January 18, 2016 at 8:11 PM

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I wish we could have PBG, but I think this drama would map too directly to IRY for the casting to fly. Hopefully SIG and PBG can team up on something different soon.

I'm really curious as to what PBG will do next. Min and Taek both had a little-boy theme to them (though obviously with Min it was a darker "children don't know right from wrong" kind), I wonder if his next role will deliberately avoid that sort of undertone?

January 18, 2016 at 11:05 PM

January 18, 2016 at 4:26 AM

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I was just thinking the same .. The plot sounds a lot like Kurosagi , though the latter's hero is a real con artist and not a cop .. And Kurosagi was never a funny drama ..
I'm really anticipating this !

January 18, 2016 at 9:51 PM

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It also sounds a lot like the American show White Collar, where a cop and a con man team up to catch white collar criminals. The tone is very slick, smart and funny. If they can do something similar in this show without it being 6+ seasons, I'd love it.

January 18, 2016 at 5:51 AM

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2016 will be a great year. In Guk si, please take the role. It will definitely worth a try. OCN dramas are really great, especially when this is the writer of Bad Guys and Vampire Prosecutor. Both are great dramas for me.

January 18, 2016 at 3:50 AM

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Seo In Guk! ayeeee!

I must already say their task is all noble, but impossible. The schemes peoplemake up in the name of money and their ways to do it... government support to real estate and mining companies and their donations to political parties, it all seems legal but.... BUT. it seems honest people can never win against money.

January 18, 2016 at 4:16 AM

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thing with SIG and humor though: he is mostly funniest when he just give this "Are you kidding me?" look or when they just make him appear unexpectedly on an embarrassing moment with a very serious expression...

January 18, 2016 at 5:39 PM

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IKR! Who could forget that expression when Lee Hyun got slipped saying that Cha Ji An is his dearest person before he gave out his Care Meter lol. It would be more interesting if SIG is signed up as the con artist instead of the police imo.

January 18, 2016 at 4:03 AM

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Ugh I have been waiting for Seo In-gook to come back in a drama and this is just too perfect. I feel like OCN has been doing such a great job with crime dramas (Bad Guys and Missing Noir M were both wonderful) so I am having unrealistically high hopes right now for this. I don't think Sooyoung is bad (she definitely has charm) but I personally am hoping for a change in the leading lady - is Park Bo Young available?? I feel like she would go well with Seo In-gook and I'd love to see her do another comic role. Why is May so far away...

January 18, 2016 at 7:25 AM

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I know right? I am happy about the trend to pre-produce dramas, I must say it would be a lot easier on the actors and production crew. But I am curious if pre-production will have a noticeable impact on the quality of the dramas. It would be an interesting discussion to have, later on in the year, after we've watched all these 100% pre-produced dramas.

January 18, 2016 at 12:23 PM

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I'm so happy that more are jumping onto pre-produced dramas. Quality is one aspect but I also think another is that writers have less chance to be swayed by the audience reactions to change the script. It's like a double edge sword where one needs to find balance to create good quality.

January 18, 2016 at 6:20 AM

January 18, 2016 at 4:35 AM

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Ma Dong-Seok? He's a hoot, esp. BTS.
Soo-young? I just can't erase my memory of her early days (and pretty facial traits) and whenever she shows up onscreen, my brain just can not compute that this face is the new "her".

January 18, 2016 at 7:53 AM

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Oh so this is entirely pre-produced? That's why he has time to film a webdrama too. I wonder if the webdrama will air sooner than June. I hope so, I'm very curious to see him in a supernatural drama, especially if Kim Ji Won is starring as well.

January 18, 2016 at 5:46 PM

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I'm super excited for that too. Never watched KJW but heard many positive comments on her. I heard the webdrama is called "Romance Island". Check out this MV, this was made last year. What a truly dream comes true!

January 19, 2016 at 8:45 AM

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Wow the person who made that video must be on cloud 9 right now, i didn't know people were already waiting for them to be paired up in a drama. Let's hope their chinese fans will help us watch this since it will air on a chinese tv site and having access to mainland China internet is not easy.

January 18, 2016 at 8:37 AM

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Already excited for the writer alone. I loved both seasons of Vampire Prosecutor ( still holding out for a third) and Bad Guys was just pure awesomeness. But Seo In-gook and Sooyoung together? I'm so there. Can't wait for this!

January 18, 2016 at 9:44 AM

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I am so on board for it !!
Not just because it is the drama comeback of Sooyoung after more than one year (even tho I am so super excited and kind of relieved lol) but Bad Guys was such an amazing drama ! At least, I have faith in the writing :D.
Plus, Ma Dong Seok is in it too ? Awesome ! Kind of bummer than Park Hae Jin and Kim Sang Joon are missing but I am pretty sure that the new squad will rock it :)

So Sooyoung is going to be in Perfect Sense and in this drama for early 2016 ? At least, she is making for her absence in dramaland in 2015 XD

January 18, 2016 at 9:55 AM

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Yes 100X. ThankU drama gods for potentially bringing SIG and MDS together in a drama by Han Jung-hoon, thankU !! I really really like Sooyoung, she has a real potential as an actress so I hope to see her in more and more projects in the near future. I'm all on board for this, bring it on !